As the epic encore to #MyNationalParksMonth began to wound down last week and I started reflecting on all the amazing places I had been, I realized that my centennial celebration shouldn’t end just yet.
The roadtrip had been an amazing journey through how America became, well, America, but it didn’t tell much of my story. So I decided that I should extend my celebration a bit further.
But exactly how do you top an epic trip like #MyNationalParksMonth?
Well, you visit 100 National Parks in 100 Days to celebrate the Centennial. And so that’s what I’m doing.
For the purposes of this project, I’m starting the clock for the 100 Day period back on March 9, 2016, which cuts off the first six national parks I visited in 2016. That means that I’ll have until June 17, 2016 to complete all 100 official park units.
Will I accomplish such an aggressive goal? Let’s find out.
UPDATE: I did it! Waaaay more coming about this whole endeavor, including how I pulled it off, what it meant to me, lessons learned, and a whole lot more. I’ll be compiling and trickling these posts out over the remainder of the summer and into the fall. In the meantime, feel free to ask me any questions you have!
Here are the national parks that I’ve already visited, both in map and list form. You can find photos from most of these destinations on this flickr album.
- Ocmulgee NM – Mar 9
- Tuskegee Airman NHS – Mar 10
- Tuskegee Institute NHS – Mar 10
- Horseshoe Bend NMP – Mar 10
- Manhattan Project NHP – Mar 11
- Ozark NSR – Mar 13
- Natchez Trace PKWY – Mar 13
- Jimmy Carter NHS – Mar 16
- Andersonville NHS – Mar 16
- San Juan NHS – Apr 3
- Christiansted NHS – Apr 4
- Salt River Bay NHP & Ecological Preserve – Apr 4
- Buck Island Reef NM – Apr 5
- Virgin Islands Corral Reef NM – Apr 6
- Virgin Islands NP – Apr 6
- Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS – Apr 29
- Frederick Law Olmstead NHS – Apr 29
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS – Apr 29
- Boston NHP – Apr 30
- Boston African American NHP – Apr 30
- Boston Harbor Islands NRA – May 1
- Adams NHP – May 1
- Minute Man NHP – May 1
- Salem Maritime NHS – May 1
- Saugus Iron Works NHS – May 2
- George Washington Memorial PKWY – May 2
- Cedar Creek & Belle Grove NHP – May 3
- Flight 93 NMEM – May 3
- Friendship Hill NHS – May 4
- Fort Necessity NB – May 4
- Johnstown Flood NMEM- May 4
- Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS – May 4
- Hopewell Furnace NHS – May 5
- First State NM – May 5
- Harriett Tubman Underground Railroad NHP – May 6
- Statue of Liberty NM – May 7
- Castle Clinton NM – May 7
- African Burial Ground NM – May 7
- Hamilton Grange NMEM – May 7
- General Grant NMEM – May 7
- Sagamore Hill NHS – May 8
- Fire Island NS – May 8
- Gateway NRA – May 8
- Upper Delaware SRR – May 9
- Delaware Water Gap NRA – May 9
- Middle Delaware NSR – May 9
- Steamtown NHS – May 10
- Paterson Great Falls NHP – May 10
- Morristown NHP – May 11
- Edison NHP – May 11
- Great Egg Harbor NSRR – May 12
- Assateague Island NS – May 12
- Lincoln Memorial – May 13
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial – May 13
- Korean War Veterans Memorial – May 13
- World War II Memorial – May 13
- Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial – May 13
- National Mall – May 13
- National Capital Parks – May 13
- Independence NHP – May 14
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko NMEM – May 14
- Valley Forge NHP – May 14
- Edgar Allan Poe NHS – May 15
- World War I Memorial – May 16
- Ford’s Theatre NHS – May 18
- Pennsylvania Avenue NHS – May 18
- White House – May 19
- Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality NM – May 20
- Shenandoah NP – May 21
- Harper’s Ferry NHP – May 22
- Appalachian NST – May 22
- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP – May 22
- Washington Monument – May 23
- Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS – May 26
- Women’s Rights NHP – May 27
- Fort Stanwix NM – May 27
- Saratoga NHP – May 28
- Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP – May 28
- Saint-Gaudens NHS – May 28
- St. Croix Island IHS – May 29
- Acadia NP – May 30
- Lowell NHP – May 31
- Cape Cod NS – Jun 1
- New Bedford Whaling NHP – Jun 1
- Roger Williams NMEM – Jun 2
- Blackstone River Valley NHP – Jun 2
- Springfield Armory NHS – Jun 3
- Martin Van Buren NHS – Jun 3
- Vanderbilt Mansion NHS – Jun 4
- Home of Franklin D Roosevelt NHS – Jun 4
- Eleanor Roosevelt NHS – Jun 5
- Weir Farm NHS – Jun 5
- St. Paul’s Church NHS – Jun 6
- Governors Island NM – Jun 6
- Federal Hall NMEM – Jun 6
- Tuzigoot NM – Jun 11
- Montezuma Castle NM – Jun 11
- Walnut Canyon NM – Jun 11
- Sunset Crater NM – Jun 12
- Wupatki NM – Jun 12